Maybe This Time
by christmasdarren
Summary: Neither Rachel nor Quinn were able to figure out what they were missing in life. Rachel thought she wanted Broadway, and Quinn thought all she needed was peace and quite. Maybe this time they'll both get it right. Finchel & Quick pairings. Enjoy!


**A/N: So, this is my first fanfic. I hope you like it!  
>It's based off of the movie The Holiday starring Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jude Law.<br>Reviews are **_**always **_**welcome! Try not to be too mean, like I said, this is my first fanfic. :P**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own Glee nor do I own anything affiliated with Glee or Fox.**

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><p>Rachel rushed over to her laptop, squealing with joy as she noticed she had one new email.<p>

**Rachel – **

**I'm very excited for the switch; I think it's going to be so much fun! Everything is in place, I've let one or two of my friends and neighbours know that you will be coming, partly so they can help you get to know the place, and partly so they won't freak out when you answer the door instead of me. I have the 3:30 PM flight from New York, straight to Ohio. That means I should be there sometime this afternoon, I'm assuming the same goes for you?  
>I hope everything goes well with your flight!<strong>

**Sincerely,  
>Quinn Fabray<strong>

She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. She, Rachel Barbra Berry, was actually going to _switch houses _with a _complete stranger _for _one entire month_.

I mean, Quinn seemed like a nice enough person, from the various emails, few phone calls and brief Skype chats they'd had. The minute she mentioned that she loved to sing, Rachel decided she liked her. Though she didn't plan on making music her career, Quinn lived in New York City, right in the heart of everything that was Broadway.

Rachel's dream had always been Broadway. Most people would think with a passion like hers, she'd be willing for anything, as long as she was given a chance to sing.

But no.

Broadway was her calling. Broadway, home to legends and her personal idols like Barbra Streisand, for whom she was named after, and Patti LuPone. Broadway, a place so magical, anybody's dreams could come true.

Even hers.

She quickly replied, not wanting to give Quinn a chance to get cold feet.

**Quinn –**

**Everything's set on my end! I've also let a few people know you'll be coming, and knowing them, they'll definitely be over to welcome you! Lima is a pretty small place, so I think you'll get to know your way around fast.  
>I have a 4:00 flight from Ohio to New York, but I have an hour layover in Philadelphia. It's okay, though, I've always wanted to see a bit of Philadelphia.<br>I hope you have a good trip.  
>I have a good feeling about this vacation.<br>**

**Talk to you soon!  
>- Rachel Berry<br>**

She added the little electronic gold star next to her name, and sent it.

In one of her Skype chats with Quinn, she'd asked why Rachel always put a gold star at the end of her name. She was then led to explain how it was a metaphor – metaphors were very important to her. It was a metaphor for her being a star. She always knew she was meant for bigger things than starring in her high school glee club. She was bigger than Lima, Ohio, but she didn't exactly make enough money (or have enough nerve) to go make her way on Broadway.

This was her chance.

And Rachel Berry wasn't going to let her chance go.

* * *

><p>Quinn opened her email, reading what Rachel had wrote, right down to the gold star.<p>

She smiled to herself.

When she'd first talked to Rachel, she seemed a little crazy, but she got used to it pretty quick, realizing it was just her personality. She was determined, Quinn had noticed, and wasn't very humble, but there was nothing wrong with noticing one's talent.

Quinn had a talent for cheerleading, that much she knew, but she never continued after high school. She was blonde, pretty, had a great style, and everybody fawned over her – she loved it. She wasn't afraid to admit that she liked the attention guys (and girls) gave her whenever they caught her walking by.

She knew all this, and she was able to convince herself that she was content with her life for a while, but she knew something was missing.

She'd felt it for the past few months, which was why she was forced to break up with her boyfriend. Finn was nice, sweet, caring, handsome, talented, and she didn't deserve him – she knew that.

Though she would never admit that to him.

She ran upstairs to make sure her suitcase was ready. She reminded herself that the weather was pretty much the same in Ohio as it was in New York, meaning that in the dead of winter it would be cold and most likely snowing.

She glanced out the window, staring at the beautiful view of New York City she had from her loft. A blanket of fresh snow was covering the already white landscape, and Quinn felt a pang in her chest as she realized she'd be missing Christmas in her home.

Oh well.

It wasn't like she'd be missing much – she was an only child, and her parents lived in California, where she'd grown up. Her family moved to NYC when Quinn was 16, and when Quinn turned 20 and moved into her university dorm, her parents moved back to their family home in San Francisco. This meant that Quinn wouldn't have been spending Christmas with anybody but a few of her friends, and most of them were busy anyhow.

This would be the first Christmas she'd spent without her family or a boyfriend, and she wasn't sure if she could handle that.

She zipped up her suitcase, grabbed her coat and passport and took the elevator from 10th floor right down to the lobby.

"Hi, Lenny. Any messages?" She asked as the balding man at the front desk of her apartment building shuffled through a stack of mail.

"Yes, Quinny. When don't you have any messages?" Quinn smiled as she glanced at the Christmas Card Lenny had handed her. Clad in matching sweaters and Santa hats where her parents, her mom holding onto Rocco, their Cocker Spaniel, wearing reindeer ears.

"More fan-mail, Quinny?" Quinn rolled her eyes. The 43 year old was the closest thing she had to a father in NYC.

"Really? And why would I have fans?" Quinn laughed as Lenny simply winked in return. "A beautiful girl like yourself? You're telling me you've never had _one _stalker?"

Quinn just shook her head as she ran out the door, determined not to miss her flight.

As she climbed into the first cab that stopped and told the driver her destination, she read the back of the card.

**Hi hunny! How's New York? Still as glamorous as it was when you decided to stay and study at NYU? Hope so!  
>We just wanted to wish you a good Christmas, considering you'll be in the middle of nowhere, and god knows when we'll be able to get in contact with you again! Do they even have internet connection where you're going? We still don't understand why you've decided to go out to <strong>_**Ohio **_**of all places for Christmas. You know you're always welcome here, and we would have loved to be able to spend Christmas with our little Q-Bee.  
>But, nonetheless, we hope you have a great Christmas.<br>We love you.  
>We're shipping your present out to the address you told us, but let us know if you don't get it by Christmas. We haven't sued anybody in a while, and the lawyer's getting restless.<br>**

**Hugs and kisses,  
>Mom, Dad, and Rocco. <strong>

**P.S. Yes. Before you ask, the sweaters **_**do **_**itch and are **_**extremely **_**tacky, but your father thinks it'll make clients feel like we're more of a quaint, traditional family. The more clients, the better!**

Quinn couldn't help but sigh as she put the Christmas card back in her purse. Her parents may be completely judgemental, scheming, and sometimes just plain hurtful, but they almost always had good intentions. _Almost_.

"Here we are, miss." The cab driver said, pulling up right in front of the terminal.

She grabbed her bags and paid the drive. As she was rushing towards the gliding doors, she heard the cab driver call out behind her, "I hope you have a nice vacation!"

Quinn sighed.

She did too.

* * *

><p>Rachel gave her bedroom a once over. She'd made sure she'd cleaned the entire house, right down to the window panes in the basement she never used.<p>

She checked her suitcases and carry-on. She couldn't help but feel as though there was something she'd forgotten, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

She checked every last room, until coming full round and flopping back onto her bed, smothering her face in her pillow.

She turned her head to the left to come up for air, and noticed a framed picture sitting on her bedside table.

She stared at it for a while. The man had curly brown hair; his blue eyes seemed to be accusing Rachel. _You don't even want to try, do you? Did you ever even love me? Of course you didn't, you just used me for my voice. Just because I'm more talented than you is no reason to get jealous, have a fit and break up with me._

Rachel couldn't believe it. _Even in my thoughts he criticizes me._

She put the photo in the drawer and took a deep sigh.

"Rachel? Rachel, you home?" Rachel smiled as the owner of the voice entered her room. _Ah, Noah, _she thought, _one of the only men in my life I can really trust_.

"Hi, Noah, what are you doing here? I would have figured you'd be getting rid of whatever date you had last night right about now." Rachel said, greeting her best friend with a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, firstly, it's Puck." he said, sitting on the bed "And secondly, she's already gone." Puck sighed as he lay back. "So, what time are you leaving?"

Rachel checked her watch, her heart stopping as she saw the time. "It's two. It's two, my plane leaves at 4, and I was supposed to be at the airport already. I'm never going to make my flight. Where on earth is Blaine?"

"Yeah, he's not coming." Puck said, sitting back up. He braced himself for the freak out that would obviously come next, but he wasn't going to see Rachel for another month – he had to send her off with a proper goodbye. At least, his version of a proper goodbye.

True to whom she was, Rachel started pacing back and forth, rambling about what to do.

"I'll never make it in time. Why isn't Blaine here? He promised he'd take me! Oh my god." Rachel couldn't believe what was happening. Why would Blaine just bail on her like this? He was her brother, for god's sake.

Puck stood up, "Why does it never come to your mind to ask me for help? You're my best friend, Berry. I'm willing to help!"

Rachel scoffed, "Yeah. As much as I might _love _riding on the back of your motorcycle, Noah, it might be a little inconvenient with the amount of luggage I have." She gestured to the corner of the room, where two large pink suitcases and one smaller one sat, each studded with a single gold star, with the words _Property of Rachel Berry_ on them.

"Holy crap." Puck laughed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What? There is nothing wrong with being prepared. I'm going to be in an entirely new city, in an entirely new _state_, with nobody I know, in somebody else's _home_. Who knows what will happen. I'm just being rational. Prepared. _Safe_." Rachel attempted to grab two of the suitcases, failing when she couldn't even drag them two steps out the room. "Come on. I can't be late."

Puck sighed. "Here." He grabbed the larger two suitcases, leaving Rachel with the smaller one and her carry on. "I borrowed Blaine's car. I told him I wanted to take you to the airport."

"Ah, my knight in shining armour." Rachel smiled. "It's good to know that I have at least _one _guy in my life I can depend on."

"Still pissed at Jesse?" Puck inquired, grimacing as the suitcases banged against the walls. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Am I still angry with Jesse? No. No, I'm not." Puck could see Rachel was in pain just saying that. "I've just realized that he was a toxic piece of my life, and I'm glad I got rid of him. So what if he never thought my talent was good enough? So what if he would mock my favourite movies, and laugh at me when I told him my secrets? That's who he is, and I've accepted that. And I'm moving on."

Puck glanced back at her. "Is that why you're going to New York City for a month?"

"Maybe."

Puck hauled the luggage to Blaine's car and rounded to help Rachel with hers. She loved Puck with all her heart, even the times when he thought with his…junk, instead of his brain or his heart. She'd known him for as long as she can remember, and been friends with him just as long. He was one of those few people in her life that she knew she could tell anything, and he would be there to listen and support her. She liked having him in her life. He was like a second brother. He was her rock. He was her best friend in the entire world.

They got in the car and drove in silence. Another thing she loved about them was that they could sit in silence for the longest time and it was never awkward. He loved that about them too.

She started humming "Don't Rain on My Parade" as she watched the scenery of Lima blur past her.

She could feel Puck tense up, and it worried her. He only tensed up when he was trying to talk himself into doing something.

"Hey – hey, Bear?" Rachel's stomach dropped at the sound of the childhood nickname. Puck had come up with that when they were roughly 8. It was a shorter version of his everyday nickname for her, Berry, and he only used it when he was worried about something, or in particular, her.

She turned to face him, "Noah, whatever it is, please just spit it out. You know how stressed out I get when you act elusive about whatever it is you're worried about, and I can't risk getting stressed before getting on an airplane – you know those stress me out more than anything."

"Bear, are you just going because you think Jesse cheated on you? Is that why you need to leave? When you and Jesse broke up the first time, you sat in your room crying for 2 weeks, and wouldn't really leave me alone. It was fine and all – I mean, you have no idea how many chicks I picked up saying that I had to go take care of my best friend because she just broke up with her boyfriend, apparently babes dig guys who take care of girls like they're their sisters, but still. You didn't just up and leave the state for an entire month. You've never been…_impulsive. _It's just kinda weird. Sorta freaks me out." He stole a quick glance at her, silently cursing himself when he noticed that stubborn look in her eyes.

"It was never proven that Jesse _actually _cheated on me. Yes, it's true that he never came home from his Vocal Adrenaline reunion, and when I called him in the morning, a woman answered. But Jesse and I talked about it when he got home. Him and his Vocal Adrenaline friends went out to a bar and hung out really late into the night, then all just crashed at one of their friend's house. That's all it was. He's 25 years old, Noah. He's only 2 years older than us, and you've partied way harder than he ever has. You're telling me if Mr. Schuester called us up and told you that he was throwing a New Directions reunion, you wouldn't spend all night out with us? A glee club is like a family, Noah. You of all people know that." Rachel crossed her arms and continued to stare out the window.

After a few minutes, Puck broke the silence. "No." He said.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I wouldn't just up and go out all night with the New Directions. Not if it me and my girlfriend were supposed to celebrate our three year anniversary." He saw how hard that hit Rachel, and he hated himself for bringing it up, but it was true. Jesse, being the ass that he was, had ditched Rachel on the night of their three year anniversary. He didn't even remember, and that wasn't cool. The Puckosaurus doesn't let his friends get hurt by dickwads like Jesse St. Jerkface.

"My girlfriend and I." Rachel corrected quietly.

"Rachel, come on. You know Jesse's a douche bag! Why do you put up with him?" Puck tried to keep his calm, he knew he got out of hand when he got upset or mad, and he was driving. He'd already gotten enough tickets, and he could barely afford those.

"Well, I _don't _have to put up with Jesse anymore, do I?" Rachel tried not to cry. She loved Jesse, she did. And she knew Jesse loved her. He _had _to. They had been dating for 3 years now. I mean, he never wanted to move in, but that's just because he had a very full schedule of plays and musicals and performances, and he had a rigorous vocal training plan that he had to keep up with, and he didn't want her to not be able to get any sleep. She tried not to remember the time Jesse had found Rachel's notebook in which she'd scribbled "Rachel St. James" a few times. She tried not to remember how he'd laughed at her. He cared about her. She _knew _he did.

Didn't he?

They drove in their comfortable silence for the rest of the ride to the airport, only speaking again for their goodbye.

Rachel gave him a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug, and turned back to wave at him as she walked through the gates to her terminal.

This was going to be a great month.

She could feel it.

After all, she _did _have a sixth sense.

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><p>Quinn stepped off the plane, breathing in the cold air of Lima, Ohio.<p>

She grabbed her luggage and hailed a cab, surprised at how easily she was able to accomplish that. _Wow_, she thought, _Rachel was right; this is a _really _small town_.

She popped her bags in the trunk and hopped into the car. "Where to?" The man asked.

Quinn rummaged through purse, trying to find the sheet of paper she'd written Rachel's address on. "I – I can't seem to find it. I can't believe this." She turned to the driver. "I'm so sorry. I'll find it. I know I brought it."

The man just laughed. He was probably Quinn's age, with blonde hair and oddly large lips. "I have a life outside of cab driving, you know." He said. "It's just my part time job – this town is extremely small, whoever you're visiting, I'll probably know where they live."

Quinn couldn't help but smile. "Um…Rachel Berry."

"Oh, Rachel, I used to go to school with her. She lives just down this road. I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Evans."

Quinn smiled. "Quinn Fabray. It's nice to meet you."

Sam smiled back. "And you."

They made small talk as they drove up to a small house, surrounded with a white picket fence and a tall apple tree in the front yard. She couldn't help but feel her heart squeeze as she stared at the tiny home. It reminded her so much of the house she grew up in. It was beautiful.

Quinn already felt like she was home.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, well, I hope you liked it. I'm sorta nervous, this is the first fanfic I've written and showed anybody but one of my best friends.**

**Like I said, reviews are extremely welcome.  
>Don't worry. Finn will be showing up soon, and we'll be meeting a few familiar faces.<strong>

**I hope I portrayed everybody alright. I know Puck is usually a little more rude (especially to Rachel), but I love the idea of Puck and Rachel being best friends, or sister and brother, etc. **


End file.
